1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gyroscopes, and more particularly to a device for providing gyroscopic stabilization and power management functions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flywheels have long been used to store energy, provide gyroscopic stabilization and to communicate positional change information to electronic and electromechanical stabilization systems in a wide variety of aeronautical, navigational, toy and novelty devices. Examples of such devices are powered and radio controlled miniature vehicles such as cars and motorcycles.
In any vehicle or device where: 1) it is necessary or desirable to have the highest possible level of gyroscopic stabilization; 2) power supply is limited; 3) the power to weight ratio is critical for attaining a desired level of performance; 4) the proportion of the flywheel mass to total mass is critical in order to achieve the desired high level of gyroscopic effect on the device; and 5) a high energy output and/or maximum performance is desired, it would be desirable to have a gyroscope system having at least some of the following features. 1) The flywheel is as heavy as possible and spins as fast as possible; 2) power is stored, managed and used efficiently; 3) the overall weight of the device is minimized while the power system capacity is maximized; 4) a large percentage of the necessary total mass of the device, including the power system, is incorporated into the flywheel mass, even as it is removed from the non-flywheel portions of the device; and 5) power can be stored as kinetic mechanical energy that may be used all at once or proportionally through clutches and transmissions to obtain very high torque or high rpm power output to the device or to the operating medium of the vehicle.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a gyroscope apparatus that achieves all of the aforementioned desirable features.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus that provides gyroscopic stabilization and power management functions to a wide variety of devices in accordance with a particular application.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a gyroscope stabilizer/power management system where the electric motor is disposed at the center of the flywheel with the armature of the motor being fixed from rotation. The integrated electric motor with fixed armature may include rotating field magnets and a brush assembly. In addition, a plurality of batteries (rechargeable or replaceable) are radially arranged within the outer circumference of the flywheel.
A printed circuit board (PCB) is connected to and part of the flywheel and includes electronics that may be designed to incorporate some or all of the power control, speed control power management, dynamic braking, clutch and transmission controls, radio control receiver, microprocessor, micro-controller, charging and intra-device contactless communications schemes.
An external commutator, connector or any known wireless method of communicating flywheel, vehicle or device control information may also be included. In addition, the flywheel can also include a system for electrically connecting external battery recharging systems and for tapping electrical power output from the flywheel which can be used to power device systems not contained within the flywheel itself.
The gyroscopic stabilization/power management system enables the storage of power from the flywheel""s internal power and drive systems as kinetic mechanical energy which can be converted back to electrical energy for other use by virtue of the integrated electric motor functioning as a generator during non-powered coast-down of the flywheel. An example of such use may be charging of the onboard batteries.
In accordance with another embodiment, the flywheel may also be used as a rotating stator to induce an electrical current in a fixed field coil with ferrous core adjacent to the flywheel. Thus, the spinning permanent magnets of the integrated electric motor (or possible separate additional permanent magnets mounted on the flywheel) will induce an electrical flow of current in the coil. The current generated in this manner may be used to help recharge the batteries integrated into the flywheel, or may be used to power other devices or systems external to the flywheel.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.